Castles & Coasts Housing Association (CCHA) aims to ease the shortage of affordable homes in Carlisle, by submitting a planning application to provide 101 much-needed new homes.

The application is for a new development on land east of Lansdowne Close and Lansdowne Crescent in the Stanwix area of Carlisle. There are more than 160 people on the waiting list for affordable rented homes in the Stanwix area alone, with over 1,700 applicants in Carlisle.

The proposed new development, in collaboration with Partner Construction, who are part of the United Living Group, will provide a mixed community of high quality, well designed homes, made up of houses for young people and families, and bungalows for older people and wheelchair users. 

CCHA’s property services director, Rob Brittain, said:

“These proposed new homes will have sustainability at their heart, with the specifications comfortably exceeding all statutory requirements and aligning with the new Building Regulations, which are due to be introduced later this year. Further enhancements to improve the sustainability of these homes will be explored, as part of CCHA’s journey towards Carbon Net Zero. 

“CCHA is committed to building high quality and affordable homes in areas where there is genuine need, and Stanwix meets this criteria. The development will meet less than 40% of the current demand for affordable rented homes in the immediate area. As a result, this is a really important development to provide affordable housing in the area.”

The vast majority of the site is allocated in the Carlisle District Local Plan 2015-30, which means it has been identified for housing development.

Rob added:

“We are committed to working with local stakeholders, partners and communities, to ensure that we deliver affordable housing in a positive way.

“Our recent pre-planning stage consultation sought important feedback on the proposals from local residents, councillors and those in need of affordable housing. It was vital for us to seek these views, which have been used to inform the final designs and overall planning submission.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to develop an important, attractive and sustainable affordable housing development for those in housing need, which is sensitive to the local environment, and provides an extensive amount of public open space and overall net gain in biodiversity.”

Subject to planning approval, CCHA is aiming to commence works on site later this year.